No. 2 University of Florida defeated No. 21 Florida State 4-1 as the annual rivalry showdown kicked off the 2020 College MatchDay slate over the weekend at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
An energetic sold-out crowd of more than 1,000 came out to watch the in-state rivals square off for the fourth consecutive year as part of College MatchDay. The teams played at the campus’ 1,200-seat collegiate stadium โ the only off-campus stadium in America built specifically for college tennis.
Game. Set. ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐.
Check out @AndyA_98โs match point to clinch the win over No. 21 FSU last night at #CollegeMatchDay
Andrade has now clinched 3๏ธโฃ matches this year for the Gators ๐ฅ #GoGators | #WeChomp ๐๐พ pic.twitter.com/reVxfFtMuP
— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) February 2, 2020
Florida took the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. The Gators extended their lead with near-simultaneous wins on the No. 3 court by Duarte Vale and the No. 6 court by Johannes Ingildsen, putting them on the verge of victory. Loris Pourroy got the Seminoles on the board with a win on the No. 5 court but moments later Florida junior Andy Andrade clinched the match for the Gators with a 6-1, 6-4 win on the No. 4 court.
“It feels great. I’m just happy for our guys that they were able to come out and compete the way they did tonight,” said Florida head coach Bryan Shelton after the Gator’s victory. “It’s always a testy match and a fun match against the Seminoles. Hats off to their team because they came out and competed really well tonight. I thought it was a fair matchโฆ high character.”
Saturday marked the fourth meeting between the two teams at the USTA National Campus. The 4-1 victory allowed the Gators to even the series in Orlando at 2-2.
Came out and represented in front of a sold out crowd of over 1โฃ,0โฃ0โฃ0โฃ#GatorNation brought the ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ last night … the BEST fans in the land ๐#CollegeMatchDay | #GatorWayBestWay ๐๐พ pic.twitter.com/UlFPo1Io5H
— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) February 2, 2020
Admission is free for each College MatchDay, which features kids activities, live music, specialty food and drinks, games and giveaways on-site at the USTA National Campus.
For more information on College MatchDay, visit www.ustanationalcampus.com.
